Scientists at the New Zealand Geoscience Society (GNS) believe the Hikurangi Subduction Zone, which is off the North island’s east coast, could trigger a massive 8.9 earthquake in the future, according to a simulation from the GNS. According to Michigan Tech, anything above 8.0 on the Richter scale has the potential to “totally destroy communities.” The rupture of the fault line would cause damage and destruction on a scale bigger than the Japanese quake and tsunami of 2011, with waves reaching as tall as 30 metres.
GNS scientist, Dr Laura Wallace, said there is evidence that pressure is building along the faults which will one day trigger a devastating quake that could impact the entire country.
As a result, Dr Wallace an a team of experts have called for a greater amount of preparedness from the oceanic country.
Dr Wallace said: “A subduction zone is where one tectonic plate subducts (dives) underneath another – the boundary between these two plates forms a large fault.
“This one in particular runs offshore from the east of Gisborne down to the top of the South Island and poses a significant earthquake and tsunami risk to the entire east coast of New Zealand.
“We know the Hikurangi subduction zone can produce large earthquakes and tsunamis, and these events have happened in the past.
“We know a rupture at some point in the future is certain. The scenario we are using to support the development of this response plan is a very realistic example of what we could face in our lifetime, or that of our children and grandchildren.
“We know they are possible, evidence suggests they have happened hundreds of years ago, so the questions are not if, but when, and how large and what the impacts will be.”
A separate study from earlier this year called for greater monitoring of the subduction zone so that Kiwi’s can be prepared.
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New Zealand is particularly prone to tremors, with part of the reason being that it sits upon the dreaded Ring of Fire.
The Ring of Fire is the largest and most active fault line in the world, stretching from New Zealand, around the east coast of Asia, over to Canada and the USA and all the way down to the southern tip of South America and causes more than 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes.
The plates which make up the Ring of Fire are so huge even the slightest shift results in massive tremors, volcano activity and tsunamis.
